Latvian

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Laivas ķeksis
 
Ķeksis

Etymology

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Cognates include Lithuanian kẽkšis, kẽkšė (hook; stilt; pole). There are similar words in neighboring non-Baltic languages: Livonian boathook, dialectal Estonian keks, käks, köks (hook; harpoon), Finnish keksi (hook), Norwegian kjeks, Swedish käx (small boathook), which led many researchers to conclude that the Latvian term was borrowed. But it is also possible that the other languages borrowed from Baltic; in which case ķeksis might continue Proto-Indo-European *kek- (to curve, bend) with an additional -s (compare Sanskrit कक्षा (kákṣā, armpit, nook, corner)); compare Latvian dialectal terms ḳekains (hooked), ḳeks, ḳeḳa (crutches), ḳeḳis (person with crooked teeth).[1]

Noun

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ķeksis m (2nd declension)

  1. pole with a hook; cant hook; boathook
  2. a checkmark; tick.

Declension

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “ķeksis”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN